McDonogh's faculty and staff recently participated in The
Baltimore Sun's 2016 Top Workplaces survey conducted by
Workplace Dynamics, LLC. The results are in, and McDonogh has
been named a Top Workplace for the fifth year in a row. In addition to
being ranked #2 in the midsize category, McDonogh received “Top
Honors” for having leaders throughout the school who are supportive
and genuinely care about their colleagues.

The first faculty and staff meeting of the school year in Tagart Memorial Chapel
on Monday, August 22 began with hellos and hugs and ended with the awarding
of two teaching chairs to deserving, yet unsuspecting, faculty members.

The entire McDonogh community gathered under sunny skies at Memorial Court
on Thursday, May 26 to observe Memorial Day and to remember and honor
McDonogh alumni who lost their lives in service to our country.

Joseph S. Keelty '40, one of the greatest champions of
McDonogh
School, passed away on Sunday, April 10 after a brief
illness. Joe loved
McDonogh to the core, and through the years he selflessly
devoted his
time and resources to furthering the mission of the school.

During the Sophomore Oratory Contest on April 5, five finalist (Anika
B., Kevin K., Pj M., Ellie S., and Jaimie Y.)
delivered compelling speeches on topics ranging from feminism and
diversity to the legalization of cannabis and the effects of brain injuries.
The Master of Ceremonies was Scott W.

Thirteen students from the Upper School spent the past weekend discussing,
debating, and learning the joys and frustrations of international diplomacy while
attending the Model UN Conference and Exposition at Columbia University in
New York City.

There was excitement in the air as eighth grade
Humanities Teacher and Master of Ceremonies Craig Copeland
welcomed students, teachers, and guests to the annual
Middle School Geography Bee in Horn Theatre on January 8.
This year’s competition included 28 contestants who
secured their spot on the stage by first becoming the
champion in their social studies class.

Join Kevin Costa,
McDonogh's Director of the Academic Program, and Grant
Lichtman, a nationally recognized thought leader in the
drive to transform K-12 education, for a lively
presentation on McDonogh's Academic Strategic Plan, LifeReady, and the future of schools.
The interactive discussion will take place Monday, October
19 at 7:00 p.m. in the Aarsand 1873 Room in the Edward St.
John Student Center.

Hundreds of high school students from 30 schools in
Maryland and surrounding states are ready to send their
robots into steely competition at the Ninth Annual Battle
O’ Baltimore robotics tournament at McDonogh School.

During the
opening faculty meeting in Tagart Memorial Chapel on
August 25, Director of Religious Studies, Character, and
Service Bridget Collins '90 received one of the school's
highest honors, the John T. Grega Teaching Chair. The
Chair was established in 2003 by Vernon Wright ’61, his
wife Lucy, and their two children, Dudley, Class of 1988,
and Katherine. Both Vernon Wright and John Grega were on
hand for the special announcement, which caught Collins
completely by surprise.

Noreen Lidston, who is retiring on July 1 after 20
years as Head of Lower School, offered graduating
seniors "Rules for the Road" during her Baccalaureate
address on June 5. In her creative and humorous way,
Lidston delivered both practical and poignant advice that
will surely have a lasting impact on the Class of 2015.
Her overriding message, "Get behind the wheel of that big,
bold, beautiful thing called your life and DRIVE!"

The 19th Annual Athletic Awards Evening held Monday, June 1 in the Horn
Theatre not only enumerated the accomplishments of McDonogh’s varsity and
senior athletes, it also drove home the value teamwork.

A light rain added to the somberness of McDonogh’s
annual Memorial Day service and the rededication of
Memorial Court on Thursday, May 21. The sacred space,
originally dedicated in 1946 to honor McDonogh alumni who
lost their lives in World War I and II, was recently
refurbished to include the names of alumni who died in the
Korean and Vietnam Wars.

McDonogh School's Cum Laude Society welcomed 30 new members
from the Classes of 2015 and 2016 at an induction ceremony
on April 22. The keynote speaker, Dr. Daniel Porterfield,
President of Franklin & Marshall College, emphasized “the
value of striving for integrity in everything we say and
do, in how we carry ourselves, always.” The national honor
society, which recognizes academic achievement, is modeled
after the Phi Beta Kappa collegiate honor society. One of
18 Maryland schools with a Cum Laude chapter, McDonogh has
been a member since 1955.

Since McDonogh’s founding in 1873 as a farm school for poor
boys, scholarship
has remained at the core of the school’s mission. On April
9, more than 150
Upper School scholarship recipients and nearly as many
donors and mentors
gathered in Paterakis Hall for the annual Scholarship
Luncheon to celebrate and
recognize McDonogh’s commitment to this time-honored
program.

During the past few months, McDonogh students partnered
with the Magic Wand Project and collected gently used prom
dresses for donation to high school students in the Baltimore
area who may otherwise not be able to have a dress for their
prom. Over spring break, organizers (Tyler J. '15, Kristina
W. '16, Jahmoni B. '17, and Jaime Y. '18) delivered over a
100
dresses, surpassing last year’s total of 70!

The work of Alison Saar, an internationally acclaimed sculptor whose narrative,
often life-sized works are poignant explorations of her personal and cultural
identity, is on display in the Tuttle Gallery through Friday, April 30.

We are saddened to share the news that Will Hauver, a
member of the Class of 2011, passed away suddenly on Monday,
February 2 from complications related to an illness. We
extend our heartfelt sympathy to his parents, Lyndall and
Bob, and his siblings, Megan and Tommy.

The girls track
team won its seventh consecutive Interscholastic Athletic
Association of Maryland championship title on Friday, January
30 at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex, edging
second place Maryvale.

Please join us for the Third Annual McDonogh Vocal
Residency Concert on Friday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m. in Tagart Memorial Chapel. The performance, the culmination of
a special program for Upper School students, will feature
resident artist Philip Collister, Professor of Voice and
Music for the Stage in the College of Fine Arts &
Communication at Towson University.

A delegation of McDonogh students honed
their skills of negotiation and compromise at Columbia
University's Model United Nations Conference (January 15-18). The annual international affairs event is known for its
original committees, intense crisis simulations, dedicated
staff, and focus on introducing its delegates to both
Columbia and New York City.

The varsity debate team demonstrated why it is
considered one of the best teams in the nation with
tremendous performances at the John Edie Holiday Debate
Tournament (Minnesota) and the Southern Bell Forum Debate
Tournament (Tennessee) over winter break. The ream also won the Lexington Massachusetts Winter Invitational debate tournament over Martin Luther King Jr weekend.

McDonogh's faculty and staff recently participated in
The Baltimore Sun’s 2014 Top Workplaces survey. The results are in, and McDonogh has been named the #1 Workplace in the
midsize category for the third year in a row.

Director of Fine and Performing Arts Kevin Costa is
directing the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company production of
Richard II at the CSC Theater in Baltimore. Costa is
joined by three
alums who started their stage careers under his wing as
McDonogh students. Kate Forton '09 and Jack Plowe '09 are
performers, and Ruth Griffith ’09 is the assistant stage
manager.

One of the highlights of the first faculty and staff meeting of the school year on Tuesday, August 19 was the announcement of the Finkelstein Faculty Grant and awarding of two McDonogh teaching chairs.

On Monday, April 28, the prestigious Cum Laude Society, a national honor society recognizing academic achievement and character, added 13 more members from the Class of 2014 and 15 students from the Class of 2015.

Thanks to a recent gift from Darrius Heyward-Bey '05, McDonogh’s
football players and the entire school community will
experience the thrill of “Friday Night Lights” in John
McDonogh Stadium starting in the fall of 2014.

During Youth Art Month in March, third and fourth graders
put their artistic talents to work to help The Red Devils,
an organization that is dedicated to providing services to
improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients and
their families living in Maryland.

Watch the construction of the Naylor Building and the Edward St. John Student
Center from groundbreaking to completion in this time-lapse video. It is awesome to see the
process condensed to one minute and 35 seconds!

Headmaster Charlie
Britton and Board of Trustees
President Arthur Adler ‘78 have announced the successful
completion of The McDonogh Forever Campaign, which surpassed
its $75 million goal, raising $80,074,190.

The weather on Friday, April 4 was not what drove more
than 1,400 members of the McDonogh School community to don
orange and black sunglasses; it was the bright future they
were seeing at the dedication of the Edward St. John Student
Center.

Ceres M. Horn ’86, for whom The Ceres M. Horn
Theatre is named, was a remarkably bright and vivacious
young
woman with tremendous promise. She lived her short life to
the fullest with utmost character, leaving an everlasting
imprint on many. Nan Cohen '85 is one of the many,
and
she recently delivered a stirring talk about Ceres and a
moment in their friendship that continues to inspire her
today.

Middle School science teacher Rick Thompson has been teaching robotics to 8th graders for close to 10 years, but this year he took the curriculum to a new level by adding a friendly competition--the Food Factor Challenge.

Senior Jennifer H. was awarded second prize in Notre
Dame of Maryland University's 2013-2014 Eichner Awards for
Young Poets for her poem "Waiting Room Ballade,” and freshman Claire N. received
honorable mention for her poem "The
Disappeared.”

I am delighted to announce that after conducting a comprehensive, nationwide search, Merritt Livermore '91 has accepted our offer to be McDonogh's next Head of Upper School. As many of you know, Merritt has brought enormous energy and an impressive work ethic to all of the roles she has held at McDonogh since returning to her alma mater in 1999.

McDonogh students studying Shakespeare will, no doubt,
benefit from the energy and creative ideas Director of Fine
and Performing Arts Kevin Costa harnessed at the Shakespeare
Theatre Association International Conference at the Stratford
Festival in Canada last week.

The Winter Band Concert scheduled for tonight has been postponed. The sixth grade, seventh grade, and eighth grade concert bands will perform on Wednesday, December 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ceres M. Horn Theatre. The Upper School Concert Band will perform with the Upper School Jazz Band on Thursday, December 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ceres M. Horn Theatre.

McDonogh's faculty and staff recently participated in
The Baltimore Sun’s 2013 Top Workplaces survey. The
results are in, and McDonogh has been named the #1 Workplace
for Midsize Companies for the second year in a row.
Additionally, Headmaster Charlie Britton received the
Leadership Award in the same category.

The Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force, will give a free performance of holiday big band arrangements and classic jazz on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the Horn Theatre.

Plan to bring the whole family to the annual Holiday
Bazaar
on Saturday, December 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the
Rollins-Luetkemeyer Athletic Center. Sponsored by the
McDonogh
Parents Association, the Bazaar is a fun event with games
for
children, vendors for adults, and a variety of food for
everyone!.

A highlight of the first day of school on August 28 was the official opening of The Naylor Building, named for Irvin S.Naylor ’54, whose lead gift made possible the construction of the state-of-the-art facility. Showers held off as students, faculty, staff, and members of the Naylor family gathered at the entrance of the building at noon for a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.

Rising freshman Ryan J. spent the last two months
developing an online game called Pic Quiz. His hard work
and creativity has paid off. The game, which allows players
to solve picture quizzes at various levels of difficulty, is
now available as a FREE app through the Apple Store.

Effective immediately, the bus lot and the Lower School hard
surface playground are closed. Underground drains are being
installed, and the bus lot is being moved to make way for a
loop road in front of St. John Student Center. This process
will take approximately eight weeks. During this time, it
will not be possible to drive on MacHamer Road (between Elderkin Hall and Allan Building) to go from one side of campus to the other. Please use Lamborn Road to access the back of campus and Shell Road to access front areas.

The Lower School Closing Ceremony was filled with sunshine and smiles as family and friends celebrated the end of the year. After receiving their certificates and hugging their teachers, the fourth graders tossed their blazers in the air in celebration.

Two McDonogh sophomores combined their scientific knowledge and creativity to develop “Microfire,” a product of the future, earning them first place in the regional Chemagination competition sponsored by the American Chemical Society.

Congratulations to McDonogh’s Head Athletic Trainer Marty Sataloff who was recently presented with the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award – District III by the Mid Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association.

The 20th Annual Stewart Senior Honors Recital, set for
Friday, May 31 at 7:00 p.m. in the Ceres M. Horn Theatre, will showcase the talents of three members of the Class of 2013: Tommy C., Dana D., and Megan M. A special Stewart Alumni Preconcert Performance will take place at 6:00 p.m.

Congratulations to the girls varsity lacrosse team on claiming
their fifth straight Interscholastic Athletic Association of
Maryland A Conference Lacrosse Championship title and for
winning their 91st consecutive game.

A team of McDonogh Upper School students tied for first place in the Sixth Annual Chinese Bridge Language Proficiency Competition hosted by the Confucius Institute at the University of Maryland on April 20.

Jonathan Waller ’00 has come full circle. As a McDonogh
student he was involved in theater under the direction of
English teacher Jon Aaron. April 12-14, Waller’s talents returned to McDonogh in the form of A Superhero, a
musical he both wrote and composed. Directed by Middle School English Jon Aaron, it was a full-scale production featuring more than 30 students and faculty as well as a 20-piece orchestra comprised of 11 musicians from the school’s music department and nine professionals.

What are your fears and how would you overcome them?
If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be and
what would you look like? What qualities and characteristics
would make your dreams come true? These are just some of the
questions posed to art students throughout the school as
they embarked on projects to reflect the themes of the
upcoming musical A Superhero, composed by Jonathan
Waller ’00.

On February 21 and 22, students in several sophomore
English classes demonstrated a deep understanding of
Shakespeare’s language and characters as they performed love
scenes, murder scenes, and fight scenes from Macbeth for
their classmates.

Zahra K. ’17 was the eighth grade grand prize winner in
the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) Race and
Politics Essay Contest held earlier this winter. More than
120 Baltimore-area students in grades 6 through 8 entered
the competition.

During the Middle School Black History Month Assembly on
February 15, students were all ears as John Milton Belcher
’71, the first African American to attend McDonogh School,
talked to them about super powers, crossing boundaries,
affirmative action, perspective, and a solution for world
peace.

The work of Oletha DeVane, Head
of Upper School Visual Arts, will be part of an upcoming
exhibition, “Ashe’ to Amen: African-Americans and Biblical
Imagery,” at the Museum of Biblical Art in New York City. The
show, which explores the ways African Americans have expressed
their religious beliefs throughout history, will be on display
from February 15 through May 26.

McDonogh wrestlers competed against some of the best Mid-
Atlantic teams in the 41st annual Raymond B. Oliver
Tournament held
here on November 30 through December 2. The Eagles dominated and won their second straight title.

When the McDonogh’s Concert Choir broke out in an impromptu concert in Pele du Pont (the Pope’s Palace) in Avignon, France recently, a young European couple stopped and asked chaperone Libet Ottinger if the choir was doing any more performances.

More than an awards ceremony, the annual Headmaster’s Day allows the
whole school to gather and show appreciation for the men and women who have
spent a great portion of their lives making McDonogh what it is.

Dear Parents,
While we hope to have a normal start to the school day
on Tuesday, we are currently monitoring weather, road, and
sidewalk conditions to ensure safe bus pickups and
transportation routes.